Quaternary International 428 (2017) 86e95

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Quaternary International
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Climate change, availability of territory, and Late Pleistocene human

exploration of Ultima Esperanza, South Chile
Fabiana María Martin a, Luis Alberto Borrero b, *
a
Centro de Estudios del Hombre Austral, Instituto de la Patagonia (UMAG), Punta Arenas, Chile
b
CONICET-IMHICIHU, Argentina

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: At the time of the first human exploration of Ultima Esperanza, Chile, swift climatic and environmental
Available online 7 July 2015 changes were taking place. The retreat of the Pleistocene glaciation and the formation of an ice-dammed
proglacial lake east of the Cordillera created adequate conditions for human colonization. Volcanic ac-
Keywords: tivity, climatic oscillations, and concomitant floristic changes defined the environment encountered by
Patagonia the first hunteregatherers arriving to Ultima Esperanza. The oldest archaeological evidence was
Exploration
deposited sometime between 10,930 and 10,410 BP and point to ephemeral occupations. The evidence
Pleistocene
from Ultima Esperanza is compared with other areas where early human presence was detected in
Hunteregatherers
Pleistocene fauna
Fuego-Patagonia. The hypothesis that the early human occupations at Cerro Benitez-Lago Sofía resulted
from logistical exploitation from Pali Aike is introduced.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The dispersal of humans throughout the world can be under-
stood in terms of biogeographical corridors and barriers. The
mapping and dating of critical resources and archaeological re-
mains provides a history of human success and failure at different
places in the planet (Gamble, 2013). Practically none of the regions
successively incorporated by humans was immediately saturated
with people, which is especially true in the more remote southern
extremes of America where population was very low at the end of
the Pleistocene (Borrero, 1999). In discussing the early evidence, we
refer to Fuego-Patagonia, which is a geographical term introduced
by Vaino Auer (1960) to treat Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego as a
unit.
The earliest evidence for human presence in Fuego-Patagonia is
concentrated in four southern regions, the central plateau in Santa
Cruz (Miotti, 1998; Paunero, 2000), the Pali Aike Lava Field (Bird,
1988), Tierra del Fuego (Massone, 2004) and Ultima Esperanza
(Nami, 1987; Prieto, 1991; Martin et al., 2014) (Fig. 1). These early
occupations display similar sets of tools, hearths, and faunal re-
mains. An important bias is that all the early archaeological sites are
recorded from caves. Efforts to localize open-air sites relevant for
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: laborrero2003@yahoo.com (L.A. Borrero).
the early peopling of the region are just beginning (Massone, 2004;
Martin and San Roma
n, 2010; Prieto and Labarca, 2011), but it is
clear that they will be required to have a fuller view of early human
settlement and activities.
At least two of the mentioned regions, the central plateau and
Pali Aike, display evidence of relatively intense occupations, and
thus can be considered population nodes or staging areas (sensu
Anderson and Gillam, 2001) during the early process of coloniza-
tion. It is our hypothesis that these are places with long-term oc-
cupations from which other regions were peopled. The evidence
recovered at Ultima Esperanza and Tierra del Fuego is quantita-
tively less abundant. In this paper, we will discuss the first explo-
ration of Ultima Esperanza, Chile, reviewing the available
archaeological, paleontological and paleoecological evidence on
the existence and access of land suitable for human installation. The
central plateau and Pali Aike will be discussed and a general
comparison with the case of Tierra del Fuego will be made.
2. Ultima Esperanza
The information for Ultima Esperanza is concentrated at the
Cerro Benitez-Lago Sofía area (CBLS), and is limited to two sites.
Cueva del Medio (CM) and Cueva Lago Sofía 1 (CLS1) (Nami, 1987,
1989-1990; Prieto, 1991; Jackson and Prieto, 2005; Martin et al.,
2014) (Fig. 2). The tool assemblages recovered at these sites share
a bifacial lithic technology with the rest of the oldest sites in Fuego-

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.06.023
1040-6182/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
 F.M. Martin, L.A. Borrero / Quaternary International 428 (2017) 86e95 87

Fig. 1. Location of the regions with the oldest evidence in Southern Patagonia.

Fig. 2. Ultima Esperanza. Location of sites at Cerro Benitez.

88 F.M. Martin, L.A. Borrero / Quaternary International 428 (2017) 86e95
Patagonia (Nami, 2003). A bone technology is also well represented
at these sites (Jackson, 1990; Nami, 2010; Scheinsohn, 2010).
CM and CLS1 are separated by about 4 km, so that they are
within foraging radii of each other. Many partially contempora-
neous paleobiological sites, like Cueva Chica, Cueva Lago Sofía 4,
Cueva del Milodo
n and many others are also located within those
radii. Carnivore e i.e. Panthera- and herbivore (Mylodon) dens were
located at these paleobiological sites, but the remains of other
extinct mammals were also found. Only one of these sites, Cueva
del Milodo
n, contain minimal evidence of human activities, in the
form of cut marks on Hippidion bones (Martin, 2013: 263). In
contrast, the findings at Cueva del Medio and Cueva Lago Sofía 1
include hearths, lithic and bone tools, and butchered bones of both
extinct and modern fauna all in good stratigraphic position (Nami,
1987, 1994a: 159; Prieto, 1991; Nami, 2010; Martin et al., 2014). The
faunal lists are dominated by camelids (Lama sp.) and horse (Hip-
pidion saldiasi), but other species are also present, Mylodon, Pan-
thera onca mesembrina and Smilodon, not necessarily the result of
human deposition (Martin, 2013). Particularly ambiguous is the
case of ground sloths whose association with humans appears
doubtful (Borrero and Martin, 2012). AMS radiocarbon dating in-
dicates that the human occupations at Cueva del Medio occurred
between 10,930 and 10,410 BP, and at Cueva Lago Sofía 1 between
10,780 and 10,140 BP (Nami and Nakamura, 1995; Massone and
Prieto, 2004; Steele and Politis, 2009; Martin et al., 2014). If we
consider standard radiocarbon dates, the chronological range is
wider and older (Table 1).
3. Paleoclimate and paleoecology
The geography of Fuego-Patagonia at the end of the Pleistocene
was very different from today. The most important differences are
related with Tierra del Fuego which at that time was part of the
continent. It was during the early Holocene that it was cut off by the
rising sea, and that the formation of the Strait of Magellan took
place (McCulloch et al., 1997).
The continental ice cap also was a formidable barrier separating
the eastern Patagonian steppes from the southern Pacific coasts, a
situation that only slightly changed with the opening of corridors
between what today are called the North and South Ice Caps around
12,800 BP (Turner et al., 2005: 369), and the retreat of the glaciers
from Ultima Esperanza (Sagredo et al., 2011; García et al., 2014).
More specifically for CBLS, the retreat of the glaciers started well
before 15,000 BP (Sagredo et al., 2011), creating a landscape of
proglacial lakes and peat bogs.
Other minor barriers probably existed, but apparently were not
significant for the peopling process. The landscape was seasonally
fragmented by few rivers with high post-glacial discharges, the
Santa Cruz and Gallegos rivers, but when ice choked in winter they
should not have been an obstacle for human circulation (Borrero,
2012). Increasing evidence of very cold environments was identi-
fied at Cueva del Medio and other sites in Ultima Esperanza (Martin
et al., 2014). In general terms, this evidence is synchronic with the
Antarctic Cold Reversal (Sugden et al., 2005; McCulloch et al.,
2005).
Table 1
Range of uncalibrated radiocarbon dates for early human occupations in Fuego-Patagonia. In all cases the AMS range is shorter than using all the dates.
Site AMS (range) BP AMS þ standard (range) BP
Cueva del Medio 10,860e10,410 10,930e9595
Cueva Lago Sofía 1 10.780e10,140 11,570e10,140
Fell Cave 10,600e10.295 11,000e10,080
TA1 10,685e9960 11,880e9960
Central plateau 11,100e10,400 11,580e9230
Discussions concerning the existence of a proglacial paleolake in
the CBLS region are well published, and there are different in-
terpretations about its extent and heights (Stern et al., 2011; Solari
et al., 2012; García et al., 2014). The proglacial lake was formed after
14,520 ± 140 BP, “the closest minimum date of ice recession in the
region as determined from the Vega Benitez core” (Stern et al.,
2011: 12) (Fig. 3). New dates obtained at Cueva Chica are confir-
matory, as the area near the cave was not only free of ice by ca.
14,870 BP, but also was viable for large mammals inhabiting the
cave (Martin et al., 2013). Stern et al. (2011) propose that the lake
was lowered to ~120 m, “to connect these lake shore caves to the
mainland”. The chronological evidence from Cueva Chica suggest
that the opening of a terrestrial connection between CBLS and the
lands in the east occurred before suggested by Stern and collabo-
rators. Volcanic activity was important and at least two major
volcanic eruptions of the Reclús volcano took place near the end of
the Pleistocene, the R1 eruption at 12,660 BP and minor eruptions
after R1 (Stern, 2008). These eruptions poured out tonnes of ashes
and tephra which were recorded at several archaeological and
paleobiological sites (Massone, 1991; Jackson, 2007; Stern, 2008).
Their short term impact surely included the disruption of the local
ecology.
Pollen records indicate that cold-resistant herbs dominated
until ca. 9954 BP (Moreno et al., 2012: 20), with an increase in local
fires and a process of terrestrialization recorded at Pantano
Dumestre. The Early Holocene was the time of a rapid spread of
Nothofagus forests as attested at Pantano Dumestre and Lago
Eberhard in correlation with a warm event. Moreno and collabo-
rators interpreted these results as indicating substantial warming
and a decline in precipitation brought by weaker SW winds
throughout Patagonia.
Low temperatures and strong winds are considered factors
limiting the expansion of the forest in Ultima Esperanza until the
early Holocene. It was during this warmer trend that the deposition
of charcoal microparticles increased, probably indicating a less
humid environment with more available fuel (Moreno et al., 2012).
4. Exploration
Exploration refers to the initial radiation of humans into empty
land (Borrero, 1994e1995), a process in which less resistance routes
are usually used and most of the settling-in places are located at
areas that are rich in resources. The main theories about the colo-
nization of Fuego-Patagonia suggest that people was slowly moving
south through the eastern steppes or near the Atlantic coast, today
partially submerged (Borrero, 1999; Dillehay, 2000; Miotti, 2010),
although a dispersion along the foot of the Andes was also sug-
gested (Martinic, 1993). The chronological information derived
from standard radiocarbon dates indicates that the central plateau
was explored probably ca. 11,580 BP or before (Paunero, 2000,
2003), and Pali Aike ca. 11,000 BP or before. If only AMS dates are
used, then the older ages are 11,100 and 10,600 respectively
(Table 1). This information suggests that older standard dates must
be replicated with modern dating techniques. The existence of
archaeological sites of similar age, older than 10,000 radiocarbon
Source
Nami and Nakamura (1995) and Martin et al. (2014)
Prieto (1991) and Massone and Prieto (2004)
Martin (2013) and Martin (2012)
Massone (2004) and Martin et al. (2009)
Miotti et al. (2003), Paunero (2009) and Steele and Politis (2009)
 F.M. Martin, L.A. Borrero / Quaternary International 428 (2017) 86e95
Fig. 3. Ultima Esperanza. Location of paleoclimatic records (Stern et al., 2011).
years, in Ultima Esperanza at the western reaches of Fuego-
Patagonia lead to the question of the conditions under which that
region was incorporated within the human range.
It is difficult to tell when the archaeological evidence refers to
the initial exploration or the colonization of a region. Some of the
criteria used to recognize early exploration sites are of course
related with the chronology of the first occupations and the con-
ditions for accessibility and habitability offered by the region (i.e.
Rockman and Steele, 2003). Equally important is how much
knowledge of the local resources is demonstrated in the earlier
occupations and the intensity and redundancy of use of places.
The older evidence from CBLS spanning the period
10,860e10,140 BP, and the low intensity of the occupations,
particularly at Cueva Lago Sofía 1, testify to ephemeral occupations
that we believe are related with exploration. The whole human Late
Pleistocene record is limited to short occupations at two sites, CM
and CLS1. Moreover, there is no evidence of occupational continuity
in the area post 10,140 BP. The discontinuity of the occupation of
CM and CLS1 is longer than 5000 years. This situation invites to
consider what changed in Ultima Esperanza. Not only people were
absent since 10,000 BP, but also megamammals. Brief periods of
occupation were to be expected during the exploration of a region,
but not to the point of creating archaeological invisibility. Consid-
ering that the human knowledge of the region and its resources is
limited, use of sub-optimal locations is expected for the initial
exploration of any region. Cueva del Medio and Cueva del Milodo
n
are the most visible and obvious places for installation, but they are
not necessarily optimal. They are very large, open and cold places
exposed to the southern and western winds. The case of CLS1 is
different in that it is a much smaller cave. However, the evidence of
human occupation of this site is minimal.
Franco studied the criteria to recognize the lithic technological
evidence interpreting an exploration stage. She suggests that tools
should not be broken, as they should be expediently made on local
rocks, which are those found within a radius of 40 km around the
site (Meltzer, 1989). Long-cutting edges should be dominant and
the few cases of exotic rocks are to be understood in the context of
personal gear (Civalero and Franco, 2003; Franco, 2003).
89
Importantly, she concluded that versatility is an adequate property
for explorers, particularly bifacial tools with high transportability.
These expectations are generally met in the early Patagonian as-
semblages, including those at Ultima Esperanza (Borrero and
Franco, 1997). What this information appears to reflect is the
relatively incomplete knowledge of the local geography and its
resources at that time.
The 37 lithics recovered in the lower levels of Cueva Lago Sofía 1
are made of local raw materials. The tools include at least one
polyhedric core that was reused as an expedient tool (Jackson and
Prieto 2005: 117), three side-scrapers, one bifacial knive, two
retouched flakes and 29 pieces of debitage, two of which were used.
Nineteen of those rejects are derived from the recovered core. The
raw materials are all local, basically lutites (70%) and tuffs (30%),
both abundant near the cave (Jackson and Prieto, 2005:118). Bone
flakers and an awl were also found (Jackson, 1990).
There are only partial descriptions of lithic tools recovered at
Cueva del Medio (Nami, 1987; Huidobro, 2014). In several publi-
cations Nami noted the finding of two Fell Cave projectile points,
together with one polyhedral core, one end-scraper, two side-
scrapers, one raclette, one knife, one marginally retouched tool,
38 flakes and bone flakers at his Fell I component (Nami, 1987,
1989e1990, 1998, 2010). Recent work by Martin produced
another Fell Cave projectile point among other lithic tools (Martin
et al., 2014). Lithics are less abundant in Nami's Fell III compo-
nent, including three fragments of projectile points, one end-
scraper, one side-scraper, a bifacial tool and debitage (Nami,
1994a). Most of the raw materials used for tools with one excep-
tion are local. Effectively, Nami (1987) mentions the presence of
chalcedony which is not available in the immediate vicinity. The
abundance of chalcedony at Sierra Baguales ~90 km north
(Borrazzo, 2008) and its presence in Pali Aike ca. 150 km East
(Charlin, 2009; Charlin and Pallo, 2013) should be mentioned. In
both areas chalcedony was used during later periods. Nami and
Case
(1988) inform that the local raw materials used at Cueva del
Medio e rhyolites, dacites and devitrified tuffs e are present as
pebbles and cobbles derived from the conglomerate on which the
cave was formed. They are present as veins on the walls of the cave
90 F.M. Martin, L.A. Borrero / Quaternary International 428 (2017) 86e95
and also at glacial deposits nearby. A black tuff was the most used
raw material (Nami, 1987, 1994a). What emerges from this syn-
thesis is that the small region of CBLS offers limited but important
evidence of Late Pleistocene occupations, which are followed by a
relatively long period of absence of people. Of course, it is not clear
if this absence is real or a result of a sampling problem. If the
pattern is real, then abandonment may have to do with the original
conditions under which CBLS was used, perhaps as part of short-
term seasonal circuits after which the sites were not revisited for
centuries. Certainly, taking into account the available models of
winter stress for southern Patagonia, seasonal use is to be expected
for the CBLS region (Pallo, 2012), a condition exacerbated by the
presence of the Cordillera Oriental (Prieto and Labarca, 2011). It is
possible that at ~52 S, resources were more spatially segregated in
comparison with northern locations, requiring large hunting
ranges.
5. Habitats, routes and corridors
The location of Ultima Esperanza differs significantly from that
of other western Patagonian basins which constitute biogeographic
dead-ends bounded by the continental ice-cap. Effectively, the
Andean ice-cap was the western limit for the expansion of human
populations and other species across hundreds of km between 45
and 52 S. Ultima Esperanza was certainly covered by ice at the end
of the Pleistocene, but it was free of ice before human arrival to
southern Patagonia. Perhaps for that reason the chronology of
human occupation at Ultima Esperanza is older than in the rest of
the western Patagonian basins (Borrero, 2004). The evidence from
Ultima Esperanza indicates that people was able to disperse to the
west earlier than in the rest of Patagonia. When discussing routes of
access to CBLS, both the Pali Aike Lava Field, located ~150 km east,
and the Central Plateau, ~500 km northeast, appears as the better
alternatives for the origin of dispersal. The earlier occupations at
CBLS are comparatively synchronic with those of both eastern lo-
calities (Table 1).
When human populations were beginning to extend their range
into South Patagonia the cold conditions of the Antarctic Cold
Reversal were prevalent. However, no specific cold adaptations
were identified among humans (Borrero, 2012). According to the
available chronologies, this people first populated the central
plateau and Pali Aike at about the same time. There is no easy way
to tell how interconnected were the people living in the central
plateau and Pali Aike, but both topography and ecological settings
indicate that corridors probably existed, so that it is possible that
some kind of metapopulation was in place across the eastern
steppes. The main obstacle in between is the Santa Cruz river,
probably not a problem for circulation during winter. Importantly,
the study of the process of manufacture of Fell Cave projectile
points at different localities in Pampa and Patagonia showed that
people who lived far away probably shared technical and social
knowledge (Flegenheimer and Catta
neo, 2013).
The process of exploration of the southern and western lands
probably was an extension of home ranges following the low
topography of Southern Patagonia. There are not many alternative
routes to reach Ultima Esperanza, which was not an isolated region
but was only geographically marginal. There are no robust alter-
natives to explain the peopling of Ultima Esperanza from the North.
The Pacific coastal connection with northern continental Chile is
difficult and discontinuous, probably dotted with calving glaciers
during the end of the Pleistocene. Very few productive lands
existed at the end of the Pleistocene near the Pacific with most of
the channels and islands covered by ice (McCulloch et al., 2000;
Prieto and Labarca, 2011). The oldest radiocarbon dates for hu-
man presence in the maze of channels that today separates Ultima
Esperanza from the Puerto Montt area is around 5500 BP (San
Roma
n, 2014). The distance between CBLS and the continent
North of Chiloe
Island is over 1100 km in a straight line. Immedi-
ately North of this area is the Monte Verde site, dated to ca. 12,500
BP (Dillehay, 1997), but available paleogeographic information
suggests that the connectivity was greater with the east rather than
with the south (Borrero, 2005). There is no evidence of dispersal
down the western archipelagos during the Pleistocene.
The eastern steppes appear as a more parsimonious origin for
the people arriving to CBLS. Not only does all the evidence indicate
that the older occupations are found in those steppes, but there is
also topographical continuity (corridors) that facilitated dispersal.
Archaeological evidence at CBLS unambiguously points toward a
terrestrial way of life. Some trees were present before 10,000 BP, as
anthracological studies from Cueva del Medio determined the use
of Nothofagus pumilio as fuel (Nami, 1994a). However, the full
expansion of the forest was a slightly later phenomenon (Moreno
et al., 2012).
Several authors discuss river basins as adequate dispersal
“routes” for colonizers (Anderson and Gillam, 2000; Kelly, 2003;
Miotti, 2010; Nami, 2013: 17). The Chico and Gallegos basins were
convenient corridors connecting Pali Aike with the CBLS region
(Carballo Marina, 2007), particularly the Gallegos basin, as its
headwaters are within 30 km of the location of CBLS. The Late
Pleistocene history of this river is not well known, but before hu-
man arrival there was a glacier piedmont which ”drained the
Ultima Esperanza basin toward Río Gallegos, on the Atlantic coast
through a meltwater channel (Sagredo et al., 2011: 95). Importantly,
the Gallegos River constitutes one of the few Holocene sources of
fresh water in a water deficient territory (Mayr et al., 2007).
Between Pali Aike and CBLS, there is a minor barrier, a relatively
flat, swampy territory at ~200e250 masl, extensively covered by
Nothofagus forests, which is known as the Llanuras de Diana
(Martinic, 2001). It is located within an old morainic amphiteather
where the Anibal Pinto and other lakes are placed (Zamora and
Dollenz, 1985: 67; Sagredo et al., 2011: 94). However, the condi-
tions were probably different at the end of the Pleistocene when
the forest was not there. Certainly, the absence of trees made the
Llanuras relatively easy to traverse. When the advance of Nothofa-
gus forests from their Pleistocene refugia occurred, the Llanuras de
Diana became a barrier for humans. The closed evergreen forests
and the swampy soils were the main causes. This area was a very
effective barrier for European colonizers in the 19th Century, and
was avoided by the local Aonikenk natives (Moyano, 1931: 144).
Other routes to reach CBLS are found north of the Llanuras, at Sierra
del Cazador or the Vizcachas valley which are closer to the Coyle
and Santa Cruz basins, but are longer and geographically more
complicated.
6. Discussion
Long-term occupations are expected at the highest ranked
patches of any region (Bird and O'Connell, 2006). The central
plateau is characterized by heterogeneous but abundant availability
of high quality lithic sources (Catta
neo, 2006; Hermo, 2009) and
adequate biotic resources and rockshelters (Miotti, 1998). Pali Aike
is a place where rock sources are not as widespread and good
quality as in the central plateau but are still abundant (Charlin,
2009). The availability of rockshelters, on the other hand, was
extremely high. The evidence at Pali Aike indicates an important
occupational node that was settled and inhabited by several gen-
erations (Bird, 1988). A record of relatively continuous human oc-
cupations exists in that region. At the central plateau the situation
is similar, in that the intensity of human occupation measured in
number of sites or number of radiocarbon dated occupations is
 F.M. Martin, L.A. Borrero / Quaternary International 428 (2017) 86e95
higher for the period 11,100e10,400 BP (Miotti, 2008; Salemme and
Miotti, 2008; Paunero, 2009). More importantly, the evidence of
the central plateau also shows continuous human occupation into
the Early Holocene. At that time, people appear to be expanding
into other previously unoccupied environments (Borrero, 1999).
Civalero and Aschero refer to, “different pulses of exploration from
the Central plateau” toward the West, represented at Cerro Casa de
Piedra (Civalero and Aschero, 2003: 145). Logistical occupations in
the vicinity of the central plateau were also inferred for the period
10,845e10,477 BP at site La Gruta, located in the southern extreme
of the plateau at, “a time at which radiation was actively taken
place.“ (Franco et al., 2012: 161).
Occupations at Pali Aike, particularly at Fell Cave, were also
intense for the period 10,600e10,295 BP. Hunting large body
mammals requires, at some point, enlargement of hunting ranges.
Because human group size basically results from adjustments to
resources, even small changes in the distribution of raw materials,
refuge and fauna may trigger band fission (Kelly, 2011, 2013). It is
our hypothesis that the peopling of Pali Aike was the result of
successive processes of band fission and subsequent changes in
hunting ranges that started in the north.
In contrast, the evidence at CBLS and Tierra del Fuego display no
signs of occupational continuity. In both cases the record it is
restricted to ephemeral Late Pleistocene occupations followed by
long occupational gaps. The environmental history indicates
geographically constrained conditions for human displacement and
installation. The limited evidence found in stratigraphy at Ultima
Esperanza indicates scattered occupations without any vertical
component. Even when the existence of a “pile” of Hippidion bones
was recovered at Cueva del Medio, they were only a few bones
(Nami, 1994b, 2014), and there are no important accumulations
resulting from successive archaeological occupations.
6.1. Tierra del Fuego
It is important to know if CBLS and Tierra del Fuego were only
seasonally used outposts, or places explored and abandoned during
the Late Pleistocene. The regional rhythms governing the use of
those regions were probably the result of decisions taken at pop-
ulation nodes placed in the steppes, such as Pali Aike or other un-
known places. The conditions under which Tierra del Fuego was
populated were recently examined by McCulloch and Morello
(2009) who described two periods during which land bridges
connected the continent and Tierra del Fuego. The first existed
around 13,100 BP for a short time, the second between approxi-
mately 10,315 and 8265e7490 BP, with a duration of ca. 1500 years.
Tres Arroyos 1, the only Late Pleistocene site of the island was
occupied between 10,855 and 10,130 BP, after the first period but
before the second, as defined by McCulloch and Morello (2009).
Accordingly, Tres Arroyos 1 was occupied at a time during which no
land bridge existed, which is the reason why that particular occu-
pation cannot be easily explained as a result of logistical forays from
the continent (Borrero, 1994e1995: 15). Although the distance
between Fell cave and Tres Arroyos 1 is only 170 km, it is difficult to
accept that there was much human traffic between the continent
and the island at that time. The presence of a wide meltwater river
in the land bridge should have been an impediment to negotiate
and there is nothing to suggest that it was even moderately rich in
biotic resources (McCulloch and Morello, 2009). The early in-
habitants of Tres Arroyos 1 prepared five hearths and discarded
some 819 lithic tools e most of them debitage e and four manu-
ports (Jackson, 2002), which were probably the result of different
short visits (Massone, 2004).
Then, assuming a terrestrial mode of displacement, some an-
tecedents for the occupation at Tres Arroyos 1 must exist in the
91
island of Tierra del Fuego. At least three observations can be offered,
1) if occupations at Tres Aroyos 1 were the result of logistic
movements, they involved a population node located on the island;
2) the earliest occupations at the continent should be minimally
around 13,000 BP in order to be able to take advantage of the first
window of opportunity to reach Tierra del Fuego, and 3) conditions
for cultural divergence e or population extirpation e created by the
formation of the Strait of Magellan were in place.
6.2. From Pali Aike to Ultima Esperanza: attraction and connectivity
Important in the comparative analysis between Pali Aike and
Ultima Esperanza is the fact that there was no Late Pleistocene ice
cover at Pali Aike, since the Andean glaciers never reached the
Atlantic (Rabassa et al., 2011). For that reason, Pali Aike was
ecologically well suited for human arrival even before the retreat of
the Late Pleistocene Andean glaciers. From a cultural point of view,
a major difference is that evidence at Fell Cave speaks of relatively
intense early occupations and continuity into the Holocene
(Emperaire et al., 1963; Bird, 1988). Lithic studies showed that only
a segment of the manufacturing sequence for Fell Cave projectile
points is represented at the Fell Cave site (Flegenheimer and
Catta
neo, 2013), implying the existence of functionally distinct
sites nearby. Also, most of the 19 or more Fell Cave projectile points
recovered at the site were heavily resharpened and recycled
(Politis, 1991; Nami, 1998), which is a measure of the intensity of
occupation of the region in a context of high mobility. Early Holo-
cene occupations that attest to regional continuity are recorded at
Fell itself and Pali Aike, Don Ariel and Cueva de los Chingues (Bird,
1988; Nami, 1999; Martin, 2013).
We do not know the precise ecological differences between Pali
Aike and Ultima Esperanza, but there are contrasts in geographical,
climatological, and ecological conditions. The distance between the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts at 52 S is about 250 km, with a gradient
in precipitation from 200 mm/year in the east to thousands mm/
year in the west (Lenaerts et al., 2014). Volcanic activity existed in
both regions, but in CBLS it is restricted to relatively discontinuous
deposition of tephra (Stern, 2008). Volcanic activity at Pali Aike
dramatically affected the landscape, dominated by three successive
lava flows (D'Orazio et al., 2000). On the other hand, the relatively
minor volcanic activity at Ultima Esperanza probably affected
directly or indirectly the local ecology encountered by the first
humans, while the intense volcanic activity at PA occurred well
before the arrival of humans.
One question is how attractive was the CBLS environment for
humans. This region is characterized by extended lowlands, which
are constituted mainly by swamps and bogs, particularly toward
the west and south of CBLS. Much of this land was the bottom of
proglacial lakes during the Late Pleistocene, and was not productive
until sometime after the discharge of the proglacial lake, ca. 10,000
BP. The timing of the local ecological succession is still unknown,
but it is possible that relatively unproductive land was abundant
near the early sites at CBLS, thus constraining both animal move-
ments and the early human occupations. The first evidence for
megamammals living at CBLS, near 15,000 BP provides a minimal
date for ecesis (Martin et al., 2013). The early faunal assemblages
recovered at Cueva Chica, Cueva del Milodon, Cueva Escondida and
other sites at CBLS testify to animal occupations of the extreme
western continental land. The presence of abundant fauna has to be
at least part of the attraction, especially the presence of camelids
and horses, the prey of early inhabitants of Fuego-Patagonia. The
chronological information for camelids is well published (Nami and
Nakamura, 1995; Massone and Prieto, 2004; Martin, 2013; Martin
et al., 2013). The available information for Hippidion saldiasi in-
dicates a restricted chronological range between 10,860 and 10,310
92 F.M. Martin, L.A. Borrero / Quaternary International 428 (2017) 86e95

Table 2
Radiocarbon dates for Hippidion saldiasi from the CBLS area.
14
Site Sample C (BP) Lab Source

Cueva Nordenskjo €ld Tibia (splinter) 13,990 ± 150 AA-100230 Unpublished

Cueva del Milodon Phalange III 11,900 ± 60 Beta-371877 Unpublished
Cueva del Medio Astragalus 10,860 ± 110 AA 100235 Martin et al. (2014)
Cueva Escondida Lunar 13,890 ± 60 Beta-310944 Unpublished
Cueva del Medio Phalange I 10,680 ± 40 Beta-344428 Martin et al. (2014)
Cueva del Medio Tibia 10,860 ± 160 NUTA-2331 Nami and Nakamura (1995)
Cueva del Medio Vertebra 10,710 ± 100 NUTA-1811 Nami and Nakamura (1995)
Cueva Lago Sofía 1 Incisivo 10,310 ± 160 OxA-9504 Massone and Prieto (2004) and Steele and Politis (2009)
Cueva Lago Sofía 1 3rd tarsal 10,780 ± 60 OxA-9319 Massone and Prieto (2004) and Steele and Politis (2009)
Cueva del Milodo
n Phalange I 11,480 ± 60 Alberdi and Prado (2004)

BP, but our research extended it to 13,990 BP (Table 2), clearly
showing the local availability of both key resources before the
arrival of humans.
It is our hypothesis that there was a connection between the
early human occupations recorded at Pali Aike and CBLS. Basic
evolutionary issues like the changing interaction between carni-
vores, herbivores, and humans are beginning to be known for these
regions, which show many similarities (Martin, 2013; Prevosti and
Martin, 2013). However, for the moment it is difficult to go beyond
the basic fact that the recorded large vertebrate mammals and the
basic lithic tools are similar. Smilodon and Macrauchenia are not
recorded at Pali Aike. For that reason, it is worth asking if the ani-
mal resources were homogeneously distributed in the intermediate
zone between Pali Aike and CBLS. The evidence for rich faunal as-
semblages in Pali Aike goes back to before the Last Glacial
Maximum (Martin et al., 2004; Borrero and Martin, 2008, unpub-
lished information), while the oldest evidence for CBLS is dated
around 15,000 BP (Martin et al., 2013).
The known spatial distribution of Late Pleistocene fossil remains
in southern Patagonia is discontinuous with two concentrations of
fossil localities. The first concentration can be found between Tres
Arroyos 1 in Tierra del Fuego, the eastern site at 68 470 W, and Las
Buitreras at 70 100 2800 W. One important cluster of paleobiological
and archaeological sites with megamammals within this concen-
tration extends between Cueva Co
ndor in the east at 69 250 W
(Barberena et al., 2007), Fell Cave located at 70 030 2300 and Las
Buitreras (Fig. 4). Within the polygon determined by these four
sites there are seven sites with extinct mammals. An extensive zone
without any record of extinct faunas lies between the Pali Aike
locality and CBLS. This region was intensively searched, but no early
or late paleontological or archaeological materials were found.
The second concentration of mammal fossil remains is narrowly
restricted to CBLS and immediate surroundings. Fifteen sites con-
taining Late Pleistocene extinct mammals are recorded there and
Cueva del Milodo
n (72 370 1300 ) is the western Late Pleistocene
bone assemblage (Fig. 4). The only claim for the presence of Late
Pleistocene megamammal bones west of Cerro Benitez corresponds
to a Mylodon pelvis found some 10 km west of Cueva del Milodo
n,
and radiocarbon dated 12,125 ± 85 BP (Stern et al., 2011). At Cerro
Castillo, some 30 km northeast of Cerro Benitez, a Mylodontinae
dermal bone was recovered in the lower undated levels (San Roma
n
and Morello, 2003). On the basis of the older pre Late Glacial

Fig. 4. Late Pleistocene faunal accumulations in Southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
 F.M. Martin, L.A. Borrero / Quaternary International 428 (2017) 86e95
Maximum dates at Pali Aike, the existence of corridors and given
that it constitutes the only alternative repository of Late Pleistocene
megamammals in an intensively researched area, it is our hy-
pothesis that Pali Aike was the source for the fauna that began to
arrive to CBLS after the retreat of the ice, sometime before 15,000
BP.
In order to understand the process of human colonization, it is
important to know if there was any continuity in the distribution of
resources, as leap-frogging (sensu Binford, 1982) within the same
patch is a relatively fast mode of human movement e usually
leaving behind unoccupied space- but it is much slower when
changing patches. However, the availability of megamammals in
the intermediate zone remains an open question and the possibility
of spatial segregation of fauna exists.
If environmental or climatic reasons produced a decline in
megafauna at any of the patches, then search costs of the surviving
individuals increased, prompting broadening of the diet and hu-
man mobility. If that was the situation in the eastern patches, then
CBLS could have been comparatively very attractive, a place with a
concentration of resources. The velocity of human incorporation of
new land could be high, responding to the degree of similarity
between new and old territories that assures no major transfer
costs about prey behavior and other resources. Slow expansion of
home ranges and a process of fission are the basic mechanisms
behind this process and even exploratory movements never
required long-term separation from the original population node
(Anderson et al., 2013: 196). The ~150 km separating Pali Aike from
CBLS appears to be a great distance, but in other regions, like
Uruguay, there is evidence of Late Pleistocene people moving dis-
tances up to 140e170 km to acquire lithic raw materials (Sua
rez,
2011: 208), suggesting that this distance is within the reach of
early colonists confronting empty land.
The occupation of CBLS can be the result of exploratory mobility
by successive extensions of hunting ranges, perhaps few in-
dividuals searching for alternative places for hunting, or new ter-
ritories. The occupation of other western margins was also
explained as the result of people expanding their ranges during the
early Holocene (Civalero and Aschero, 2003). In a region with water
deficits (Mayr et al., 2007), Ultima Esperanza was an attractive
territory. Generally speaking, the western territories before the
expansion of the forests were good hunting alternatives, perhaps
what Karl Butzer called a “high biomass of k-selected herbivores”
(Butzer, 1991: 140). There was high faunal diversity at CBLS, and the
available resources were attractive enough to sustain punctuated
occupations as recorded at CM and CLS1. We consider the occu-
pations at CBLS as marginal as they indicate discontinuous use of
the land, probably from a distant population core (Borrero, 2004:
56).
It is difficult to sustain that hunteregatherers stopped moving
when they arrived to CBLS (Prieto and Labarca, 2011), as hunter-
egatherer adaptations are generally mobile. To move around was
an imposition for new colonists who needed to learn the distri-
bution of unknown resources and the local geography (Meltzer,
2009: 235). In more strict terms, the evidence recovered at CBLS
and nearby can only be explained as a result of very ephemeral use
of the region by highly mobile hunteregatherers. Analysis of the
archaeological evidence explains those occupations more
economically as a result of excursions, probably related to nodes
located someplace else.
7. Conclusions
Summing up, connections between the inhabitants of Pali Aike
and Tierra del Fuego probably existed, but they were indirect and
relatively old. There is no record of human presence in the north of
93
Tierra del Fuego after the early occupation recorded at Tres Arroyos
1 until the middle of the Holocene. Starting ca. 8000 BP the
terrestrial connection with the continent was definitely interrupted
with the formation of the Strait of Magellan.
On the other hand, there is high connectivity between Pali Aike
and the western margins of Patagonia, particularly CBLS (Borrero
and Manzi, 2007: 170). Altitudes around 100e200 masl indicate a
relatively flat topography which was not disrupted by any barrier,
as the Llanuras de Diana were probably easier to navigate at the end
of the Pleistocene. On that basis we propose the hypothesis that the
source for the earliest ephemeral incursions into CBLS can be found
at Pali Aike.
The early populations of Fuego-Patagonia were certainly pre-
pared to deal with environmental heterogeneity. Some innovations
can be expected as a result of moving into new land, but most
would not amount to more than variations on a common theme.
Given that basically the same prey was being exploited, then few
investments in technology were required. Castin ~ eira et al. (2011:
350) in their morphometric analysis of a collection of Fell Cave
projectile points from Uruguay found that particular design is
adequate for the colonization of new lands where risks are ex-
pected. Accordingly, Maggard and Dillehay (2011) considered that
people possessing those points can be ascribed to ‘transient ex-
plorers’ (sensu Beaton, 1991). CBLS may simply be a region that was
discontinuously used in time and space, perhaps for sporadic large
game hunting forays. Dispersing into new land can also be
considered a way of spreading risk, a process that requires abilities
to move, to process information and to select places according with
intuitive cost-benefit analyses. As remarked by Beaton (1991: 215),
exposure to relative isolation can also lead to extinction, a possi-
bility to be considered in discussing the archaeology of CBLS.
Acknowledgements
We thank the organizers of the Symposium, the Corporacio
n
Nacional Forestal (CONAF), the guards of Monumento Natural
Cueva del Milodo
n, Hugo G. Nami, and Cecilia Pallo. The work
presented here was funded by Projects FONDECYT 1150845 and CD
MAG0901 (Universidad de Magallanes). Comments made by the
reviewers were extremely helpful in preparing the final version of
this paper.
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